|
|
home / subscribe / donate / tower / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events
|
SHOULD SCOOTER LIBBY'S LAWYER BE DISBARRED? Law school dean Lawrence Velvel says, Maybe he should, if he sat idly by while client Libby spouted lies. What lies at the core of Zionism? Michael Neumann tortures Alan Dershowitz, without a warrant! "Sex-mad adulterer from British aristocracy claims to have 'revolutionized' philosophy." Yes, Bertrand Russell, they mean you! Alexander Cockburn on Smearing 101 in the British press. Get the answers you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
|
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner St. Clair / Vest / Walker
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
November 7, 2005 Dick Reavis Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Eli Stephens David Swanson M. Junaid Alam Matt Reichel Naima Bouteldja Jeff Halper Website of the Day
November 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Diana Johnstone Roosa / Nevins Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Ross Mike Whitney Mark Engler Juliano Mer-Khamis Ron Jacobs Jill S. Farrell Missy Comley
Beattie Mitchel Cohen Evelyn J. Pringle Reza Fiyouzat Charles Sullivan Zachary Richard Ben Tripp St. Clair / Vest
November 4, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Dave Lindorff Phillip Cryan Christopher Brauchli William S.
Lind Daryl G. Kimball George Beres Peter Montague
November 3, 2005 James Petras Saul Landau Rep. Cynthia McKinney Michael Dickinson Joshua Frank Remi Kanazi Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
November 2, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Robert Oscar Lopez John Walsh Brian J. Foley Ramzy Baroud M. Junaid Alam Todd Chretien Bruce K. Gagnon Website of the Day
November 1, 2005 Ron Jacobs Gary Leupp John Ross Bill Quigley Joseph Nevins Dave Lindorff Linda S. Heard Heather Gray Michael Dickinson Jeffrey St. Clair
October 31, 2005 Elaine Cassel Mark Weisbrot Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Farooq Sulehria Nicole Colson Madis Senner Paul Craig
Roberts
Cockburn /
St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Tim Wise John Chuckman Steven Higgs Brian Cloughley M. Shahid Alam Nikki Robinson Ralph Nader Joe DeRaymond Joshua Frank Laura Santina Fred Gardner Michael Dickinson Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Vanessa S. Jones Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
October 28, 2005 Jared Bernstein Virginia Tilley Phil Gasper Jennifer Matsui Manual Garcia,
Jr. Monica Benderman Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff
Saul Landau Stuart Hodkinson Ingmar Lee Lila Rajiva Ilan Pappe Niranjan Ramakrishnan Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Cockburn / St. Clair
October 26, 2005 Kathy Kelly Gary Leupp Mike Marqusee Eric Ruder Patrick Cockburn Joshua Frank J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Website of
the Day
October 25, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Ken Sengupta / Patrick Cockburn Conn Hallinan Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Jackie Corr Robert Day John Sugg
October 24, 2005 Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Bill and Kathleen
Christison
October 22 / 23, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Billy Sothern Saul Landau Ralph Nader Behrooz Ghamari Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Fred Gardner Lee Sustar Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen James Petras Joshua Frank Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Michelle Bollinger Missy Comley
Beattie Kona Lowell Ben Tripp Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Day
October 21, 2005 Dave Lindorff Winslow T. Wheeler Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Madis Senner Michael Donnelly
Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Jeremy Brecher
/ Patrick Cockburn Kevin Zeese Ross Eisenbrey Randy Shields Justine Davidson After Lucas
Cranach Joe Allen
Subscribe Online
|
Weekend Edition Crackdown in Colombia, Part 2"Political Kidnapping" and Murder in CaucaBy PHILLIP CRYAN Last week I reported in Counterpunch on a recent effort by the Colombian government to suppress the vibrant social movement in the southwest Colombian province of Cauca. In particular, I focused on the recent detentions of trade union and campesino (peasant farmer) movement leader Miguel Fernandez and Nasa indigenous leader José Vicente Otero Chate. It has been a busy week since then, on both sides of the struggle....... José Vicente and Miguel On Friday November 4, over 400 people gathered outside the DAS (Administrative Security Department) headquarters in the city of Popayán to protest the illegal detention there of Miguel Fernandez. That same day, Colombian and U.S. authorities began to receive a steady stream of messages from people concerned about Miguel and José Vicente. On Monday November 7th, a group of trade unionists and other concerned citizens, including City Councilor Félix Arroyo, demanded the two leaders' release at the Colombian Consulate in Boston. During a second demonstration at the DAS headquarters in Popayán on the night of Tuesday November 8th, Miguel was freed. A campesino movement leader and close friend of Miguel describes the scene when Miguel emerged from the building and walked towards the demonstrators: "The joy was tremendous. Some started to applaud, others shouted chants; the embraces began immediately. Tears of elation ran, confusing themselves together with the rain that was falling." But the joy felt that night
by our brothers and sisters in Cauca, sweet and refreshing as
it was, was also short-lived. The following day they learned
that Miguel had only been released conditionally, that the charges
against him have not been dropped. So the persecution of this
trade union and campesino movement leader -- on the absurd
grounds that he invented death threats against himself and his
family -- continues. Land occupations and the current situation in Cauca Cauca's indigenous, campesino, Afro-Colombian, and trade unionist organizations see the persecution of these two important leaders as just the tip of the iceberg. They see these attacks as an attempt to frighten, divide, and silence their social movement, which for many years has been a guiding light for all Colombians who seek peace and justice. Most recently, the social movement has been focused on supporting a massive action by the Nasa indigenous peoples in the municipality of Caloto to regain land that is rightfully theirs. For one month -- since October 12 -- hundreds of indigenous people have occupied an hacienda (estate) in Caloto, seeking a dialogue with the Colombian government on agreements reached between the government and Cauca's indigenous groups six years ago, which the government has failed to fulfill. These agreements were made formal in the federal government's Decree 982, regarding "the social and economic emergency of Cauca's indigenous communities." The indigenous peoples have made it clear that they use this land occupation as a last resort after years of government refusal to honor the agreements or even enter dialogue with the indigenous organizations. The government has responded to their peaceful action with massive, violent force. Over forty people have been
wounded by police attempts to dislodge them. On Wednesday November
9, Rodrigo Vargas Becerra, a human rights defender who witnessed
the police's violent actions, was arrested. He was accused of
carrying explosives, a charge witnesses call ridiculous. The Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN) offered a list of the things Belisario died in pursuit of, the things they have occupied the hacienda and resisted violent attacks to achieve, including this:
Today, the siege continues. The indigenous 'squatters' -- an oxymoron, but you get what I mean -- have not budged, but they expect further and more intense attempts to dislodge them in coming days. They also anticipate more arrests of the leaders of their organizations, and those of Afro-Colombian, trade union, and campesino groups, as the government campaign to frighten, divide and silence them moves forward. For the occupants of the hacienda, the situation is likely to get a lot more difficult before it gets better. And a lot is riding on the success or failure of their struggle. A campesino leader from central Cauca explained the overall situation simply: "What happens to the indigenous people [in Caloto] will affect all of our organizations, and ultimately the whole country." What does all this have to do with u.s.? The U.S. has provided over $4 billion in 'aid' to Colombia since 2000, over 80% of it to Colombia's military and police. This makes Colombia far and away the largest recipient of U.S. aid outside the Middle East, with the largest U.S. Embassy in the world now in Bogotá (that is, if you agree that the U.S. installation in Baghdad is not an embassy). Continued U.S. financial support for the Colombian military and police -- whose collaboration with brutal right-wing paramilitaries has been documented not only by human rights groups and journalists but also, extensively, by the U.S. State Department -- sends human rights violators in Colombia a very clear message: if they seek to wipe out the social movement judicially or physically, if they work with paramilitaries and even get caught at it, there's no reason to worry. The U.S. aid won't stop flowing. In the shadow of this bond between the Colombian government and the U.S., there's some leverage for people to use: if you saw the news from Cauca last week and sent a quick message to Colombian and U.S. authorities, then it's likely you contributed to Miguel's release from custody. Further messages -- just short, simple expressions of your concern, demonstrations that you're watching -- sent now can have a positive impact on his life and the lives of other persecuted leaders in Cauca, and on the survival and longevity of their organizations' and communities' struggle for life, land and dignity. Please write to U.S. Ambassador William Wood (AmbassadorB@state.gov) and Human Rights Officer Laura Kirkpatrick (kirkpatricklh@state.gov), asking them to:
And write to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez (auribe@presidencia.gov.co, dh@presidencia.gov.co, Fax (57) 1-566-2071) and the Governor of Cauca, Juan José Chaux Mosquera (Fax (57) 2-824-3597), asking them to:
Please copy ("Cc.") the following addresses on the e-mails you send, so that Cauca's social organizations will know what communications the government authorities are receiving: fundcima@yahoo.com; anucurcauca@hotmail.com; cric@emtel.net.co. It's remarkable how much these kinds of messages can mean to the folks who give the orders -- to arrest, threaten, murder, torture -- in Colombia and other countries whose people bear the brunt of our bad government's violence. It's important that we put to use the leverage we have, because doing so can have real effects on protecting the lives of people our world desperately needs alive. But what's most important, for our own sake and also for the sake of the brave souls resisting injustice at the risk of their own lives in Cauca and so many other beautiful places in our world, is that we heed the Nasa's call, and Belisario's example: "to move from the passive discourse of demanding our rights" -- or demanding protection of the rights of others -- to taking the necessary steps to make justice and fairness and basic human decency real, here, now. In Colombia and everywhere else, the effects of such a change in U.S. society would be felt immediately. For, just as the Nasa have found to be the case for Colombia, a thorough search of U.S. history yields not a single case of rights beneficently granted, and a great many cases -- though sadly few in recent years -- of real progress won through struggle. Phillip Cryan lives in Ames, Iowa, and spent 2002
and 2003 doing human rights work in Colombia. He is writing a
book about U.S. policy in Colombia, and popular resistance to
it, for Common Courage Press. In July 2006 he will help lead
a Witness for Peace delegation of labor activists to Colombia
-- for more information, visit http://www.witnessforpeace.org
or contact Phillip at phillipcryan000@yahoo.com.
|
from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
